THERE'S a bonus for local motor sports fans this weekend (June 23/24) - the Prescott speed hill climb now features the Tran-X British Hill Climb Championship and all the top drivers have entered.

With the cancellation of Prescott's title round in May, the Bugatti Owners' Club swiftly upped the status of the June event so that it will now feature a full scale battle for Championship points in two hard fought Top Twelve run-offs for the title contenders. When the series started at Gurston Down near Salisbury at the end of May, it was Scotsman Graeme Wight Jnr (Aberdeen) who took maximum points with his superb Gould-Cosworth single seater. With five times Champion (and Prescott record holder) David Grace not defending his title this year, Graeme looks like setting a blistering pace at Prescott as he aims for another maximum.

However this is a series where every point is hard-won. The opposition will include former Champions Roger Moran (Ludlow) and Roy Lane (Warwick), plus Prescott experts Tim Mason (Inkberrow), Tim Coventry (Falmouth), Rob Turnbull (Sutton Coldfield), Simon Durling (Sevenoaks) and BAR Formula 1 aerodynamics expert Willem Toet (Brackley). In total there are 47 drivers entered in the two large capacity racing car classes.

Local interest in the title chasers centres on Gloucestershire Police Officer Chris Merrick, due to drive the ex-Roger Moran 4-litre Pilbeam single-seater for the first time at Prescott. After scoring well in the first round, Chris will be out to qualify for both the Championship run-offs, the first one at the end of the morning runs and the second at the end of the day. Once in the elite 'Top Twelve', then every hundredth of a second will count.

The meeting is a round of the Clark's Motor Group Midland Championship, won last year by Llangollen's sports car wizard Clive Kenrick, and counts towards the Power-Mec British Leaders title held by Martin Groves, as well as other season-long series. There are full entries in Prescott's many different classes, from road-going cars to big single-seaters, plus a batch of Ferrari cars and the Aldon/HSA section for less experienced drivers.

Though there are no Bugattis at Prescott this time (due to a major International Rally in Switzerland), this is a weekend for the best in modern speed hill climbing.

Practice starts at 9.30am tomorrow (Saturday) with the competitive runs at 10am on Sunday (June 24). Adult admission is £6 on Saturday and £8 on Sunday. Accompanied children under 14 are admitted free and car parking is free.